Social Class and Premarital Sexual Permissiveness: A Re-Examination

Data from samples of 903 students and 1515 adults were used to investigate the hypothesis that persons of higher social status are less permissive than lower-status persons regarding premarital sexual behavior. In neither sample did the expected negative relation between class and permissiveness appear, but among persons displaying conservative characteristics generally, the relationship was negative. Among those with liberal characteristics, the relationship was positive. Conversely, general liberalism enhanced sexual permissiveness more in higher than in the lower-class groups. These findings are consistent with the theory that in groups or classes where the traditional level of sexual permissiveness is low, social forces are more likely to alter individual levels of premissiveness. The evidence also supports the thesis that the more generally liberal a group, the sharper the differences in attitudes between liberals and conservatives in that group.